Inside look at Jake Arrieta trade that brought Cubs more than they hoped

It was a day that will live forever in Cubs history, though no one had any clue at the time.

The Cubs, on a West Coast trip to Oakland, Calif., in the summer of 2013, finally dumped wild closer Carlos Marmol on the Dodgers on July 2, setting off mini-celebrations back home.

But they also made another move that day that didn't move the needle. In a deal that was greeted with shrugs, they sent starter Scott Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger to the Orioles in a multiplayer trade that brought two struggling pitchers, Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop.

Arrieta, then 27, was supposed to be the key, but the Cubs immediately sent him to Triple-A Iowa. So they really were left with one middle reliever for their second-best starter, and no one seemed all that happy.

"I don't think this team improves by trading Scott Feldman," starter Jeff Samardzija said that night, echoing the thoughts of some of his teammates.

Who knew?

Less than three years later, Arrieta has thrown two no-hitters in a span of 11 regular-season starts and has gone 20-1 with an 0.86 earned-run average over a mind-numbing 24-start stretch that has established him as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

The Orioles deal now looks like the most lopsided Cubs trade since Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio in 1964, only this time the Cubs are the ones laughing.

All along the Cubs knew Arrieta someday would channel his inner Bob Gibson, right?

"Of course not," President Theo Epstein said. "He obviously had top-of-the-rotation potential, but we weren't sure whether he would even command enough to be a starter or would have to go the pen.

"We sent him to Iowa to go back to what felt most natural to him and he punched out nine (strikeouts) over six innings in his third start with dominant stuff. I watched that game on the Internet and he had wipeout stuff.

"We started to get excited about him and looked forward to seeing what he could do with (pitching coach Chris Bosio) and our pitching infrastructure the last couple of months of the season in the big leagues."

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta discusses the reaction to his no-hitter against the Reds.

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta discusses the reaction to his no-hitter against the Reds.

Before the deal, Arrieta and Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair weren't on the same page. The Orioles were trying to get him to throw directly on line to the plate instead of his favored crossfire delivery. Their way felt uncomfortable to Arrieta.

"I knew I got (to the majors) for a reason," Arrieta told Sports Illustrated during spring training, "and I was confused about why I was changing that. You feel everybody has your own best interests in mind, but you come to find out that's not necessarily the case."

Cubs scouts Jake Ciarrachi, Brad Kullman and Billy Swoope all had watched Arrieta throw during the first three months of 2013, and their reports were all in agreement.

"They did a great job recognizing the potential he still had," Epstein said.

Ciarrachi was adamant that Arrieta could thrive with a change of scenery and a few mechanical changes under Bosio. Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer listened, then worked to make the deal.

Feldman had been part of the sign-and-flip strategy that began under Epstein in 2012, but he had made only 15 starts for the Cubs. The Orioles desperately needed another starter, and Feldman was giving the Cubs innings.

So instead of waiting for the July 31 trade deadline to creep closer and create more interest in Feldman, the Cubs decided to act quickly, pulling the trigger in early July. Why not wait and see if they could start a bidding war over Feldman?

"We also were looking to trade (Matt) Garza and didn't want Feldman to cloud Garza's market and vice versa," Epstein said. "We wanted to move quickly on Feldman while he was throwing well."

The deal was consummated in the early afternoon, and Arrieta was in the Cubs organization, albeit at Iowa. Samardzija, the team's ace and one of its leaders, sharply criticized the move, believing the Cubs were still in contention despite a 35-46 record. He called Feldman "a solid dude" and wondered why he had to go.

"It's a shame to see him go, and the same with Clevenger, a great dude to have around, a great teammate who played the game hard and played the right way," Samardzija said. "It's unfortunate. Just hope the guys they get in return are comparable and bring the same attitude to the field every day that those guys brought."

Epstein said he didn't care about Samardzija's critique, knowing he was a competitor who wanted to win now.

"That was a natural reaction for someone losing a teammate who was pitching well," he said. "Especially when all he knew about Jake was his unimpressive stat line."

Arrieta reported to Iowa to work with pitching coach Mike Mason and return to the delivery that felt natural to him. He came up on July 30 for a spot start at Wrigley Field, giving up one run on two hits over six innings in the second game of a doubleheader against the Brewers.

Arrieta was sent down afterward and wasn't recalled until Aug. 16 after going 2-2 with a 3.56 ERA in seven starts.

In his first start back, Arrieta threw seven shutout innings against the Cardinals. He finished 4-2 with a 3.66 ERA for the Cubs, and manager Dale Sveum penciled him in as the No. 4 starter for 2014.

"A change of scenery is the biggest thing to start with, and being surrounded by quality human beings from day one at Triple-A Iowa," Arrieta said of his improvement. "I worked with Mason. That was huge, and then the transition to Chris Bosio and the staff here. It has been great and I've been able to continue to take steps forward."

The time in Iowa also allowed the Cubs to keep Arrieta under their control through 2017 instead of 2016 because of service-time ramifications, which seemed minor at the time but looms large now. He is certain to hit it big in free agency if the Cubs can't extend him before he gets there.

Sveum was fired after the '13 season, and after starting 2014 on the disabled list, Arrieta blossomed in the second half. When the Cubs signed free agent Jon Lester that offseason, I wrote they may have two Cy Young Award candidates, a statement that seemed a bit far out at the time.

But Arrieta won the Cy despite not even being chosen to the National League All-Star team, and he pitched the Cubs into the National League Division Series with a wild-card victory over the Pirates.

Arrieta's commitment to being in the best physical shape possible, in addition to his improved command and self-confidence, have combined to make him one of the best stories in baseball.

Just a couple of weeks ago, when the Cubs showed off their new clubhouse, I asked Arrieta if the Pilates room was named for him.

"I don't know," he said.

Now that he has another no-hitter under his belt, the naming rights undoubtedly belong to Arrieta rather than some corporate sponsor.